Haven't Met Him Yet
by mmooch
Summary: Instead of turning to Spike, Buffy meets somebody new during Sweet's visit. Now that the spell's broken, can she find him again, and will it change anything?
1. Chapter 1: Haven't Met Him Yet

**Haven't Met Him Yet**

Summary: Instead of turning to Spike, Buffy meets somebody new during Sweet's visit. Now that the spell's broken, can she find him again, and will it change anything?

Warning: I don't know; maybe language and innuendo somewhere along the way.

Timeline: season 6, during and after _'Once More With Feeling'_.

A/N: This is only a prologue, folks. It's up to you, the readers, to decide where the main part of the story happens. I'll let the voting go for a couple months to give everyone a fair chance to suggest.

Thanks to my betas: zigpal, AshDawnSoulmates, and AerynSpeedleCaine. You can thank the last one for my posting this now instead of later; she wanted another interactive story from me.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission. Song sung by Michael Bublé and the scene is from the video, _'Haven't Met You Yet'_.

* * *

**Buffy's bedroom**

Lying in her bed, Buffy wondered about something she hadn't told the others about when they shared their different song stories. When it happened, she felt light and free – like before she became the Slayer and had the weight of the world on her shoulders. After the song ended, however, that crushing sense of emptiness hit her again. Even though a part of her was grateful to Spike for keeping her from dancing herself to death, a larger part wanted somebody else to be responsible for saving her…for example, the guy from the grocery store.

It was weird encounter.

Okay, so given everything else that happened during Sweet's visit, it was pretty much par for the course, but still…

So she went to the store to get some things that they were low on: toilet paper, milk, that sort of stuff. She had just gotten to the ice cream section – because you can't go grocery shopping for the Summers household and _not_ get ice cream – when she looked up and saw a hottie singing out loud.

_And I know someday that it'll all turn out  
You'll make me work, so we can work to work it out  
And I promise you, kid, that I give so much more than I get  
I just haven't met you yet_

By the time he got to the end of the stanza, they were walking on top of the refrigerators towards each other. As soon as they got within range, their bodies melted together – in a metaphorical sense – like they were meant to be. Like _soulmates_…you know, the way she once thought she and Angel were once upon a time.

When the next verse started, they were suddenly sitting at a table that moved around the store somehow. From the corner of her eye, she saw that nothing was supporting them; they were basically just floating. Talk about strange. But it was hard to care when he was looking at her like that and singing so sweetly.

…

_Wherever you are, whenever it's right  
You'll come out of nowhere and into my life_

But that part paled in comparison to the next scene…where they were on a bed going down the aisles. Curling up next to him felt so good and so right to her. It was definitely a close second to being back in heaven. They stayed in the bed until he sang the chorus again.

_And I know that we can be so amazing  
And, baby, your love is gonna change me  
And now I can see every possibility_

…

Sadly, that's when they shifted to another place: a spinning phone booth of all things! All the spinning was making her a little sick to her stomach. Plus, she wanted to go back to the bed, dammit! That was much better place to be in her opinion.

_They say all's fair  
In love and war_

_But I won't need to fight it  
We'll get it right and we'll be united_

Then they were split up during the instrumental break. She found herself standing near the cash registers while he led a marching band – how on earth did they fit in the aisle? – towards her, looking kinda like an older, hotter version of Ferris Bueller in the parade scene. Okay, so he didn't look like Bueller, but the scene reminded her of the movie.

Confetti fell down on them like snow as he pulled her into his arms again. The passionate way he stared into her eyes made her happy to be alive again for the first time since she was dragged out of heaven. Even seeing Giles again didn't compare to this. Around them, customers and store employees were dancing in a crazy, but fun way. Her heart soared as he reached out a brushed a lock of hair out of her eyes.

…

_And someday I know it'll all turn out  
And I'll work to work it out  
Promise you, kid, I'll give more than I get  
Than I get, than I get, than I get_

As the chorus repeated again, everyone spilled out into the parking lot – which was lit up by Klieg lights to brighten the area, which was odd considering that she entered the store in the middle of the afternoon – for more choreographed dancing. Buffy couldn't help but join in the fun this time; she was just so damn joyful!

But since it was Buffy's life, the bubble had to burst eventually.

…

_I just haven't met you yet_

When he got to the last couple words, time reset and she was alone in the parking lot. Walking into the store, she noticed a guy walking past her, but didn't stop to really look at him; she was too focused on getting the stuff she came to buy. It wasn't until they found out about Sweet, and she had time to think about it that she realized it wasn't some weird daydream.

Question was: could she find him again and could she feel that happiness she had with him?

* * *

A/N: I left the guy's description as vague as possible so I could leave it up to the readers who he is. A couple things to keep in mind before you cast your vote, though. One, he needs to be a good guy – or at least a redeemable bad guy (No Voldemort, please). Two, he has to come from a fandom I can write about. I'll count up the votes and see who has the most; if I can write him, there'll be a sequel. Well, there'll be a sequel no matter what – unless all the reviews say that there shouldn't be – but who the lead man will be is the question to answer. Time to stop the babbling. So, 'vote early and vote often!'


	2. Chapter 2: Haven't Met Her Yet

**Haven't Met Her Yet**

Sorry Note: This one is uber-short, folks. The notes are longer than the chapter. Just wanted a quick peek at the guy – in a vague way – before I gave you the list of candidates to vote on.

Timeline: season 6, after _'Once More With Feeling'_.

Thanks to my betas: nope; it's all my fault this time.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission. Song mentioned sung by Michael Bublé and the scene is from the video. You **gotta** watch the parody of the video for this called _'Russian Unicorn'_ by BadLipReading.

www. youtube watch?v=YjaZNYSt7o0&feature=relmfu

* * *

**Hotel Room**

**Just outside Sunnydale**

It had been a few days since the strange incident at the store, and he still couldn't figure out what happened to him. He knew Sunnydale had a reputation for odd occurrences. Hell, that's the reason he came in the first place. But this…this wasn't even on his radar for what could happen.

He couldn't stop a wry chuckle from escaping his lips. If the people who knew him – or _thought_ – they knew him witnessed that performance… Well, he was just glad there was no photographic evidence for anyone to find; he made sure of that as soon as he was in his right mind again.

Still, it left him with a dilemma.

On the one hand, he felt more than a little embarrassed that he was swept up in whatever had gripped the town for the past few days. He thought he was stronger than that. On the other hand, however, the feelings of joy and freedom he had when singing to the blonde woman weren't like anything he ever experienced before.

The question he had was: Was she the cause or another victim?

When he went back to the store later, there was no repeat performance, and that was the only time while in Sunnydale that he broke out into either song or dance. Giving her the benefit of the doubt – at least temporarily – he decided that if she wasn't the cause, then perhaps she was the trigger.

Something about her was why he started singing…he was almost sure of that. Part of him wanted to find her and see why that was; the other part was afr- _concerned_ he would do it again. Maybe once the others stopped their impromptu musicals he could go look for her.

After all, he had the tape and other 'resources' he could use to track her down if he decided to take a risk on her.

If he did, would she make him feel happy again or would he find out it was all an illusion?

* * *

A/N: Now that we have the candidates, I'll let the voting go for a month or so to give everyone a fair chance to pick their favorites. Like with my daddy series, vote for your top three choices in a review, in order that you like them. Your first pick will receive 3 points, second gets 2 and third gets 1 (you can't use the same name for more than one spot, though).

There were a total of 124 suggestions for 71 different guys between the two sites. For the suggestions which didn't specify the fandom, I went with the fandom I automatically thought of for that name. 45 guys had one nomination each; 14 had two (including a few of my favorites *pout*) and the last 12 had three or more nominations. Those will be the ones you guys vote on.

In alphabetical order by first name (or the name they're best known by):

1. Aaron Hotchner (Criminal Minds)

2. Bruce Wayne (Batman – one of the movies)

3. Clark Kent (Smallville)

4. Daniel Jackson (Stargate SG-1)

5. Dean Winchester (Supernatural)

6. Eliot Spencer (Leverage)

7. Jarod (Pretender)

8. Methos (Highlander)

9. Steve Rogers (Captain America/Avengers)

10. Tony DiNozzo (NCIS)

11. Tony Stark (Iron Man/Avengers)

12. Wolverine (X-Men, the movies)

Like I before, pick your top three choices and put them in order with your first choice being…well, first.

Also rans: Bruce Banner (Avengers), Clone!Jack (Stargate: SG-1), Dick Grayson (Batman), The Doctor (Doctor Who), Hugh Fitzcairn (Highlander)

Jack Harkness (Torchwood), Jack O'Neill (Stargate: SG-1), Jonas Quinn (Stargate: SG-1), Lex Luthor (Smallville), Loki (Thor/Avengers)

Mac Taylor (CSI: NY), Neal Caffrey (White Collar), Oliver Queen (Smallville), Sam Winchester (Supernatural), Alucard (Hellsing)

Byakuya (Bleach), Cameron Mitchell (Stargate: SG-1), Carson Beckett (Stargate: Atlantis), Charles Grey (The Unit), Child of GW and Agatha Heterodyne (Girl Genius)

Chris Perry (Charmed), Connor MacLeod (Highlander), Cory Raynes (Highlander), Damon (Vampire Diaries), Derek Rayne (Poltergeist: The Legacy)

Nick Boyle (Poltergeist: The Legacy), Doctor Doom (Fantastic 4), Doyle (Angel), Evan Lorne (Stargate: Atlantis), G Callen (NCIS: LA)

Gabriel/Loki (Supernatural), Gilgamesh Wulfenbach (Girl Genius), Harry Potter (post-DH), Horatio Caine (CSI: Miami), Jason Todd (Batman)

John Shepard (Stargate: Atlantis), John Winchester (Supernatural), Josef Kostan (Moonlight), Julian Luna (Kindred: The Embraced), MacGyver (MacGyver)

Marco (Animorphs), Martouf (Stargate: SG-1), Michael (The Legion), Michael Garibaldi (Babylon 5), Perry Mason (Perry Mason)

Peter Parker (Spiderman), Quinn Mallory (Sliders), Richie Ryan (Highlander), Ronon (Stargate: Atlantis), Scott Summers (X-Men)

Severus Snape (Harry Potter), Shawn Spencer (Psych), Sherlock (BBC Series), Stringfellow Hawke (Airwolf), The Huntsman (Snow White)

The Punisher (The Punisher), Thor (Thor/Avengers), Tom (if freed) (Animorphs), Zorro (Douglas Fairbanks version)

Thanks to everyone who nominated somebody or agreed with somebody else's nomination!


	3. Chapter 3: Oh Baby!

**Chapter 3: Oh Baby!**

Warning: This chapter is not Xander or Giles-friendly, but not bashing either in my opinion. I will say that this story will be kinder overall to Xander (and Willow) than it will be to Giles.

Timeline: season 6, during _'Tabula Rasa'_.

A/N: This is the last chapter before we find out who 'he' is. The votes have been tallied and I know who he is. A bit of warning…there's some fairly significant changes in canon to both fandoms to accommodate the new relationship between Buffy and her mystery guy.

Disclaimer: BtVS characters belong to Joss Whedon / Mutant Enemy. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

* * *

**Next morning…**

Buffy lay in her bed, going over the events of the previous night again. Dawn was kidnapped…again; Xander summoned the demon who did the kidnapping…not again, but he really should stay away from anything that had to do with magick from now on. The strangest thing was the demon's final words to them…something about setting things right and liking the number 14. What the Hellmouth did that mean?

Everyone was too strung out emotionally do deal with the threat at the time. Willow and Tara said they were going over to Xander and Anya's for something and would just sleep over there. Personally, Buffy figured that it was just too awkward for them to be around her at the moment, knowing that they didn't save her from hell like they thought; they condemned her to it.

That was okay, she couldn't deal with their guilt at the moment, either. Giles was acting all weird on her and then there was always the joy that was her baby sister to worry about. Since when was Dawn in the habit of helping herself to jewelry that was sitting around the Magic Box? Hopefully Giles would help Buffy impress upon the teenage delinquent how bad her habit was. Buffy hoped it was limited to just the Magic Box or Social Services would take Dawn before she could even open her mouth to protest.

Just as she was thinking about getting out of bed – despite getting hardly any sleep – Buffy heard a cry coming from Dawn's room. She raced down the hall, wondering whether she should have stopped for a weapon on the way. When she got to the doorway, she froze. There wasn't a weapon that could help her with what she saw…at least she didn't think there was.

In the middle of the bed, a tiny baby lay, squalling at the top of its lungs. It was surrounded by the night clothes Dawn wore to bed just a few hours ago. Buffy already could tell that the baby was Dawn. There were enough pictures of them as babies – plus Buffy's fake memories of that time – to verify that concern.

"Dawn?" Buffy asked, picking up the baby and making sure to keep a blanket between her and her sister's butt. That much she remembered from her brief career as a babysitter.

"Bubby!" baby Dawn cried out. Well, the voice was infantile, but the look was pure teen Dawn.

"Dawn? Are you…still a teenager in your mind?" Buffy asked, feeling a little foolish to be asking such a question, but couldn't stop herself from doing it.

Her reluctance was unnecessary as the child in her arms nodded angrily. "Oh boy!" she breathed softly. "This is definitely something that needs Giles' help."

"Oou ink?" Dawn snarked. Weird – and more than a little creepy – for a baby to be able to snark. But her point was well taken; it was sort of a 'duh!' comment to make.

"Oh, Giles!" Buffy sing-songed as she made her way down the stairs. "Got an interesting puzzle for you to solve!"

Giles groaned after glancing at his watch and seeing the early hour. "Buffy, it is far too early for that tone!" he complained, still not seeing the bundle she was carrying. "What couldn't wait until a decent time?"

She turned Dawn so the de-aged girl was facing the grumpy Watcher and said, "Dawn needs some diapers…and other baby things. Oh, and we need to figure out how to change her back!" she finished emphatically.

"What the-?" Giles cut off abruptly as he stared at the sight of his Slayer holding an infant.

"Iles!" Dawn's voice snapped to get his attention.

"What the-?" he tried again, this time stunned by the glare Dawn was giving him. He didn't think babies _could_ glare.

"I think we broke him," Buffy quipped. "Guess I should have told him that you still think like a teenager, even though you look and talk like a baby."

He finally shook himself out of his thunderstruck state. "Yes, that would have been most useful. I presume this just happened?"

The sisters looked at each other and sort of shrugged together. "Not exactly sure when it happened, but we just found out about it a few minutes ago," Buffy answered for both of them. "Seriously, though, she needs some baby stuff right away. We have some old baby clothes in a box Mom saved, but she needs things like diapers, wipes…you know."

Giles shook his head again. "Actually, I don't know. I believe it would be better if you went to the store for those items and I'll attempt to start researching this…event."

"That sound okay to you, Dawn?" Buffy asked. "Wanna stay with Giles or should I try to make a list for him instead?"

Dawn appeared to think about it for a second, then pointed at Buffy, who had moved her back into a more comfortable position for both of them. "Oou urry."

Nodding in agreement, Buffy carefully handed her sister over and said, "I'll be back as soon as I can. I'm taking Mom's Jeep so it'll be faster."

"You're leaving Dawn here with me?" Giles asked in horror.

Buffy huffed in exasperation. "Giles, it's November and she isn't dressed. Even if I put on an outfit for her, it would be a major hassle to try and shop with a baby – especially one without a diaper!"

* * *

**Magic Box**

**That afternoon…**

Tara was the first one to arrive and meet the new version of Dawn. "Uhh…Buffy? Did I miss something?" she inquired cautiously.

"Short story…Dawn's physically de-aged but still thinks like herself," Buffy answered abruptly. "Long story…I want to wait until everyone's here so I only have to talk about it once. Let's just say that I'm not a happy camper about this."

There was another reason she was unhappy, but that was Giles' news to share with the group. Apparently she was depending on him too much and he was leaving her to deal with life on her own – despite finding out where she really was and that her sister had been turned into a baby! Actually, having baby Dawn to care for was even more reason for him to leave her…in Giles logic.

"Me, oou!" Dawn agreed, much to Tara's shock.

"Okay," Tara murmured. "Guess this means I won't be playing peek-a-boo with you," she said to the younger, _younger_ Summers girl.

Dawn just glared back. Despite the situation, the scene almost was enough to make Buffy smile. She was pretty impressed with her sis for being able to pull off that look with her baby features.

The other three pulled in a few minutes later, talking about something quietly to themselves. Buffy considered waiting for Spike but decided against it for two reasons. One, it only indirectly involved him and two, there was no guarantee he'd show up.

"Giles! It's time!" she called out to her Watcher.

He came out in time to hear Xander ask, "Where'd ya get the baby from, Buffy?"

"From you," Buffy replied a touch angrily. "At least indirectly."

Both Willow and Anya turned to glare at him, and he held up his hands in front of himself to shield them. "What? I don't know what she's talking about?"

Tara intervened, since it seemed she was the only one to hear the second part of Buffy's statement. "What do you mean 'indirectly'?"

"Remember when that demon last night said something about 'making things right'? Turns out he meant de-aging Dawn so she's the age of how long she's actually been in Sunnydale," Buffy finished with another glare in Xander's direction.

"How is that _my_ fault?" he protested. "And how do you know this was something he did?"

"Uhh, 'cause you were the one who summoned him!" she snapped back. "And we figured it out because he specifically mentioned the number fourteen…which just happens to be how old Dawn originally was when the monks sent her here…fourteen months ago. We happened to see on an old calendar that Dawn celebrated her 1st birthday two months ago."

Giles understood his Slayer felt stressed, however, he did not feel it was right to take it out on her friends. "Now, Buffy, Xander couldn't have known-"

It was his turn to be on the receiving end of her glare this time as she cut him off, "It doesn't matter! How many people died because of that thing? Besides, given our histories, when has it _ever_ been a good idea to summon a demon?!" Buffy practically screamed at him.

That caused Anya to pout a little. "Well, I was summoned and that didn't turn out so bad, did it?"

Buffy took a breath to calm herself, then replied a tad more evenly, "That's because you aren't a demon anymore. Since we met Willow's vampire self from the world you created, I'm guessing that it wasn't a great place to be. So if you hadn't become human, our lives – assuming we even had them – would be pretty sucky right now."

"It _was_ a pretty bloodthirsty wish," Anya allowed, her eyes glazing over in the memory of one of her more impressive wishes. Thankfully, everyone else was focusing more on Dawn and Buffy than her or she might have had some explaining to do about why she wasn't exactly remorseful about it.

"Be that as it may, our focus should be on what we can do for Dawn, not trying to assign blame on anyone," Giles interjected.

"You mean _us_, don't you?" Buffy remarked bitterly. "Or are you planning to research this on the other side of the ocean? Oops…" she faux-apologized, "Did I accidentally let that slip?"

"What is she talking about, Giles?" Tara asked.

Before he could respond, a young man came into the shop and smiled at Buffy. "I'm glad I found you again," he said, walking over and reaching out to touch her cheek.

"Oi! Who's the swot?" Spike complained as he ventured out from the basement. He didn't much care for the swoony way the Slayer was acting towards the guy in the nice suit. She was supposed to be his, dammit!

And just like that, everyone collapsed where they were, thanks to the spell that Willow had cast earlier at the Summers home.

* * *

A/N: I know, I'm a terrible tease, aren't I? I have the winner of the vote and am just working on the chapter where he's introduced to the readers. But this chapter felt like it belonged on its own since it dealt mostly with the canon changes I made for BtVS. The next one will deal with the canon changes of the other fandom and the rest of _'Tabula Rasa'_ – which will have even more changes, too.


	4. Chapter 4: Him Revealed

**Chapter 4: Him Revealed**

Timeline: a year or so after the divorce in season 3.

Warning: AU for CM. I will warn y'all that I've only been watching CM for a few months so I may not get the characters' voices down perfect. Sorry about that ahead of time.

A/N: The vote was very close…and a little surprising considering how the nomination period went. With the weighted scores for the votes, Aaron Hotchner was the winner with 45 points; Eliot Spencer got 37; Bruce Wayne had 35, Dean Winchester had 33 and Tony Stark finished the top five with 32 points.

Thanks to my betas: AerynSpeedleCaine.

Disclaimer: BtVS/AtS characters belong to Joss Whedon/Mutant Enemy. Criminal Minds characters belong to Jeff Davis, The Mark Gordon Company and CBS. I claim no rights to any copyrighted material. Please do not copy or take this story without my permission.

* * *

**Sunnydale Hotel**

Aaron Hotchner sat on the couch in his room, wondering if he shouldn't feel worse for abusing his authority by taking the video surveillance tape from the grocery store earlier. Then he remembered that he never got to the part about explaining that he was with the FBI; all he said was that he wanted to look at the tape and they handed it right over without even asking why. That was very strange…

He shook his head at the thought. He was starting to wonder if there was _anything_ normal about this town. It would be a profiler's nightmare to try to figure out the motivations around here. But it was a good distraction, which he needed currently.

Haley getting remarried was hard enough to handle, but having to go to the wedding and watch her pledge her life to another man? If he didn't know her better, he'd say she was being sadistic. But he did know her better, and knew that if the situation was reversed, she'd be watching him get remarried because they wanted to remain friends for Jack's sake. But after Haley, her new husband and Jack left for a family honeymoon, Aaron desperately needed to find something else to occupy his mind.

Maybe that was Rossi's reason for sending him here. Why else would Rossi have told him to look into the disappearance of an inordinately high number of cats in the area?

Yes, it wasn't a case that his team could officially tackle because it was animals, for one, and the local police hadn't requested any assistance, for two. However, Rossi had a personal stake in it since one of his ex-wives lost a hypoallergenic purebred Ashera valued at close to $50,000 when she had stopped on her way from LA to Santa Barbara.

Aaron hadn't found out much – aside from most of the local LEOs were probably somewhere between incompetent and corrupt – before he found his own mystery to solve.

That incident at the grocery store was very pleasant, yet very troubling at the same time. For the first time since…well, to be honest, since he first met Haley, Hotch felt joyfully whole. He was happy throughout most of their marriage, but his job made that pinnacle of 'joyfully' unattainable for him.

On the other hand, his mind knew that it wasn't real; something about the situation made it feel manufactured somehow. His finger hovered over the send button on his cell as he tried to decide whether he should call in his team or not.

In the end, his sense of duty overrode his concerns about looking foolish in their eyes.

* * *

**A few minutes later…**

"So how's it going in California, Aaron?" a sympathetic Rossi inquired. He'd gone through divorce and remarriage enough to have an idea of how the man might be feeling at the moment. Except for the kid part. His own son never lived long enough for them to have to worry about time-sharing him like Aaron had to with Haley. "Any luck on the missing cat?"

"Not a lot, other than the local law enforcement isn't concerned about missing animals. They barely put any effort into missing _people_," Hotch complained to his colleague. "But that's not why I'm calling right now. I need your advice."

"Sure," Rossi easily agreed. "What's the problem?"

After Hotch briefed him, Rossi thought for a moment, then carefully asked, "How much did you have to drink last night?"

Fortunately, Hotch didn't take offense at the question. "None. At least until after it happened. Then I had a couple."

"Did you eat or drink anything after you got to town?" Rossi persisted.

"Only things that I bought from a gas station just outside LA," Hotch replied. "And there's no residual feeling of being drugged that I can tell. It did feel as though I wasn't in control of my own body, though."

"Maybe group hypnosis?" Rossi guessed. "Have you felt the urge to break out singing since?"

"No, thank goodness," Hotch muttered. "But I haven't dared to go back to the grocery store to see if it was something there that caused it."

"Well, we can start digging up information on Sunnydale while you check out the area some more. Just make sure that you check in with one of us every couple hours, okay?" Rossi requested with a noticeable hint of concern in his voice. "If we don't hear from you, we'll assume the worst and head that way."

Even though it felt a little like overkill, Hotch couldn't help but agree that it was unusual enough to warrant that kind of reaction. "Good enough. I'll call you every other hour."

As the day went by, the team informed him that Sunnydale had a weird history with the Bureau. Going back to the forties, every ten years or so, there'd be an investigation into the town, but as soon as the agents got back, they'd insist that there was nothing to be concerned about.

The last time was a couple years ago when the high school blew up during the graduation ceremony. The official reports claimed it was a gas leak and by this point, there was no way of knowing it that was true or not. The timing was awfully suspicious, however.

By nightfall, he had assured his team that he wasn't losing his mind and accepting the odd occurrences as normal. That gave him until the next day before he had to check in again with Rossi. He just stepped out to get a couple items for morning when he happened upon a store called the Magic Box. He looked in through the window out of idle curiosity and saw the woman from the grocery store.

In his excitement at finding her again, he neglected to call anyone to let them know of the new development. Instead, he rushed through the door and went right up to her, uncaring of how intense he might seem to anyone else. Emotion won out over logic as he reached out for her face. "I'm glad I found you again," he whispered.

Staring into her eyes, he didn't hear the angry cry of another man in the room, but he did manage to catch the woman as they both fell to the floor. Morgan was going to kill him for not checking in before he entered the store.

* * *

**An undetermined amount of time later…**

When they woke up, confusion reigned until somebody thought to check for IDs. Aaron was more than a little disappointed to find that the woman he was holding did not have any papers that indicated she was his wife. That feeling grew when he saw the loving way she comforted the baby next to her. Maybe they just hadn't finalized it yet? He hoped.

Of the people in the room, she and the baby were the only ones who didn't have names. Well, technically Randy and Anya guessed what their names were, but since they seemed satisfied they were right, that left two.

"Well, since her onesie has a picture of an iris on it, I think I'll call her 'Iris' for now," the young blonde announced.

"And what about you?" Aaron asked.

"I feel like a Joan," she answered after a minute.

He smiled warmly at her. "I think it's a beautiful name; strong and beautiful." He was rewarded when she blushed and ducked her head. That made it easy to ignore the scoffing from Randy about them getting a room. He was a very crude individual.

Aaron agreed with Joan that a hospital made great sense and suggested they look up the address in the phone book before they set out. Since there weren't any life-threatening injuries, calling for an ambulance wasn't necessary. They tried calling a taxi, but the person just laughed and hung up on them

Turned out that knowing where the hospital was didn't matter because everyone forgot the address as soon as they saw the monsters at the door. At least everyone appeared surprised to find out that vampires were real.

While Alexander and Willow were searching for other doors, Aaron took a look around and saw a lot of crosses and bottles of holy water; two things he wouldn't expect to find in a magic shop. But the legends he could remember said that demons were repelled by them, so he grabbed them and tossed a cross and bottle to each of the others.

To everyone's horror, Randy's face changed as soon as he touched the cross.

"He's one of them!" Anya pointed out the obvious. "He's going to suck our blood! I'm too young to die! And I'm getting married! I can't die before I get married!"

Aaron and Giles used the threat of holy water to get Randy to back up towards the door, disregarding his pleas of ignorance. Even if he didn't know he was a vampire, it wasn't as if the lack of knowledge would change the fact that he was a danger to all of them. His last mistake of the evening was to grab the nearest thing to keep from being pushed out of the store…which happened to be Iris' stroller.

The change that came over Joan was incredible. She jumped up and twisted Randy's arm until it snapped, causing him to lose his grip on the stroller. Then she changed her hold to his collar and used her momentum to slam him against the door frame. "Don't you dare hurt my baby!" she growled at him. With her other hand, she yanked open the door and shoved him outside, then quickly slammed it shut again.

When she turned around, she found everyone staring at her. "What?" she asked.

"You lifted Randy off the ground," Aaron pointed out. "That shouldn't be possible, given the differences in your heights and body types."

Tara shook off her surprise long enough to gesture out the window. "They're leaving us alone. It looks like they just wanted Randy."

"That may be true, but it could also be that they are lulling us into a false sense of security," Rupert countered.

"Maybe we should find some magick spells to protect us until we can get to the hospital," Anya suggested.

Rupert smiled at his bride-to-be and nodded, "That's a capital idea, dear!"

Aaron found the gate to cover the window and lowered it so the vampires couldn't just break the glass to get into the shop. Then everyone – who wasn't a baby – started searching the shelves for books about protection or memories. Anya tried to grab a different book, but quickly backed down with a pout when they outvoted her.

Bouncing excitedly in her seat, Tara announced, "I found a protection spell! Oh wait…it can only be cast on virgins," she finished sadly.

But Joan just smiled even more at the news. "That's great, though! That means we can cast it on Iris! Who feels the most magicky? I want her to be as protected as possible."

Tara read the book a little more and said, "Well, according to this, it's best cast by those related by blood or love. Since you seem to be her mother, you should cast it."

As intrigued as he was by the spell, Aaron had to ask, "What exactly will this protect her from?"

"Any supernatural forces on her spirit or mind, plus there's a blessing just below that would act like a blanket of holy water around her. Not in the literal sense where she'd drown or anything, just that it would repel evil like holy water," Tara explained.

"Seems good to me," Joan decided with a glance at Aaron. When he nodded, she took the book from Tara and practiced the words silently to get them right while the others gathered the ingredients they needed for the spell. When they finished, she said the words out loud and a white mist circled Iris for ten seconds before sparkling away. "Think it worked?" she asked rhetorically. They all agreed anyway, then went back to looking for more spells.

A short time later, Willow called out from up in the loft, where she and Alex were checking the books, "This is a book of memory spells!" She carried it down and started thumbing through it at the table. "Huh, that's weird. This one talks about a black crystal and I noticed a black crystal in my pocket earlier."

"_You_ were the one who made us lose our memories?" Joan demanded, looking like she was about to repeat her earlier performance with Randy.

Alex cut in on his maybe-girlfriend's behalf, "Or _maybe_ the person who did it slipped the crystal in Willow's pocket because the spell was supposed to target her."

Willow shrugged and pulled out the crystal. "Only one way to find out," she said before crushing the crystal under the heavy book. Her first words as the spell lifted were, "Oh pooh!"

* * *

Next chapter will be a bit rough for Willow and even for Giles.

A/N: This isn't meant to be a slam on Haley for getting remarried. I just needed her alive and out of the way – emotionally-speaking – for Aaron to move on with his life. Sorry to Spike fans, but this felt realistic to me. I don't think he would be killed, just roughed up a bit.

From petside . com:

The Ashera looks like a cross between a leopard and a cat. It is a hybrid mix of an African Serval and Asian Leopard cat plus the genes of a domestic cat. Asheras can weigh up to 40 pounds and they are so rare that only about four to five of them are created each year.

Price Tag: $22,000–125,000.

Fun Fact: A hypoallergenic version is available for a mere $37,000. One with a snow leopard pattern can be had for $125,000.


End file.
